Process of transferring prints or designs



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VILLIAM ll. MAX\VELL, OF OIIARTIEES, ASSIGNOR' TO THE PITTSBURGH GLASSNOVELTY COMPANY, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

PROCESS OF TRANSFERRING PRINTS OR DESIGNS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 439,536, dated October28, 1890.

Application filed March 31, 1890. Serial No. 346,107. (No specimens.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM II. MAXWELL, a resident of Chartiers, in thecounty of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new anduseful Improvement in the Process of Transferring Prints or Designs; andI do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof.

My invention relates to the transferring of printed matter to china,glass, leather, or other surfaces, its object being to provide a simplemeans of making this transfer from wood-cuts, stereotype-plates, type,or other like printing means and to form the same upon the glass orother surface, whether it be of flat, oval, or other contour.

To these ends my invention consists, generally stated, in coating paperwith a soluble varnish, then covering the same with collodion, formingthe design or print on the collodion surface in vitrifiable colors, then(lissolving out the soluble varnish, so separating the paper from thecollodion film, transferring such film from the glass or other surface,and then burning out the collodion film and burning in the design, soproviding a surface which maybe covered with molten glass or otherwiseprotected on the formation of paper-weights, dishes, plaques, and otherlike articles.

It also consists in certain other improvements, as hereinafter setforth.

To enable others skilled in the art to practice my invention, I willdescribe the same more fully.

In carrying out the process embodying my invention I generally takelarge sheets of paper, and coat them over with a soluble varnish, thissoluble varnish being formed of any material suitable for the purpose,and as an example of the varnish found well adapted for the purpose Iuse a varnish formed of gumarabic and sugar, the sugar being employed torender the varnish more soluble. After coating the sheet with thisvarnish I cover the same with a thin film of collodion, a simple meansof accomplishing this being to turn up the edges of the paper so as toform a sort of pan upon the same, pouring the collodion over the surfaceof the paper, and then pour off any surplus collodion, so forming on thesheet of paper first a soluble surface and then a thin film ofcollodion, which is insoluble in water. After drying the sheet it may becut into any desired shapes and sizes, and upon these sheets I print thedesigns, figures, orlettering desired, this being done with the ordinaryprinters ink. hen the design is to be transferred to leather, Wood, orother like surfaces which are not subjected to heat, this is all thepreparation necessary in preparing the sheets, the sheets being printedon in any desired colors or variety of colors in order to produce thedesign required. Ithen take the sheet of paper carrying the design andplace the same Within a tub orpan of water and permit it to soak for ashort period, so dissolving out the soluble varnish, when the film ofcollodion carrying the design thereon will rise to the surface of thewater, and it may either be transferred to the plate-block or othersurface on which it is to remain by passing the same under the film ofcollodion floating on the surface of the water and by means of suchplate raising it from the pan, or it may be lifted from the pan by othermeans and transferred to the surface on which itis to remain. For thetransferring of such designs to surfaces of wood, leather, or any suchmaterial where it is not subjected to heat this practically completesthe process, all that is necessary being to protect the collodion filmcarrying the design by a suitable varnish forming a covering.

In transferring the design to glass, porcelain, or china-ware, or likesurfaces into which it is to be burned the process is practically thesame, except that the print must be formed in vitrifiable colors. Forthis p urposeI prepare the sheets in the manner above described, and Ieither print upon the collodion surface of the paper with a vitrifiableink or I print upon such surface with an ordinary printers ink andbefore the ink is dry dust or sprinkle over the surface with vitrifiablecolors, the ink taking up these colors and forming the vitrifiable printon the collodion surface of the paper. The paper thus carrying thedesign is then placed within the pan or tub and the soluble varnishdissolved out, so separating the paper from the film, and the glass,porcelaimor chinaplate or other article to be decorated is passed underthe waterand raised up so as to lift the film carrying the design fromthe'pan, care being taken to bring the same to the desired position uponthe glass or other surface. When the same is thoroughly dried, thearticle is burned Within a suitable oven or kiln, and in so burning thearticle it is found that the collodion film carrying the design isburnedout, While the design upon the film is burned into the surface of theglass, porcelain, or china and permanently united therewith. The surfaceso formed may be either used Without further treatment, or itmay befinished by hand, such as to bring out the shading of the design, whichsuch additional coloring can be burned into the surface. suitablematerialsuch as with a glaze, such as for plates, plaques, shades orlike'articles, or with a thin body of" molten glass, such as forpaper-Weightsand like articles.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The herein-described process of forming designs or prints on glass orlike vitrifiable surfaces, consisting in coating thepaper first with asoluble varnish and then with a film of collodion, forming the design orprint on the collodion surface in vitrifiable colors, then dissolvingout the soluble varnish so separating the paper from the collodion filmcarrying the design, transferring such film to the Itmay also be coveredwith any collodion surface soformed, then floating Within Water thepaper carrying the collodion film until the Varnish is dissolved and thepaper separates from the film, then taking up the film upon the surfaceto which it is to be transferred by passing the same into the Water, andraising it up to lift out the film, substantiallyas and for the purposesset forth.

3. The herein-described process of forming designs on china, glass,orlike vitrifiable substances, consisting in floating Within a pan acollodion film having the design formed thereon in-vitrifiable colors,takingthe same-upon the glass or other surface, burning. out. the film,and burning the designor print into the glass, substantially as and forthe purposes set forth.

Intestimony whereof I, the said WILLIAM H. MAXWELL, have hereuntoset myhand- WILLIAM H. MAXIVELL.

\Vitnesses:

J. N. COOKE, RoBT. D. TOTTEN.

